Bird Photographer of the Year has revealed the winners of the 2025 edition of the competition. Liron Gertsman has been announced as the winner with an image of a magnificent frigatebird silhouetted against a total solar eclipse has taken the grand prize in the world’s largest bird photography competition. Photographers from all over the world entered more than 25,000 images into the competition, each with their eyes on the £3,000 grand prize.
Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 – The Frigatebird and the Diamond Ring by Liron Gertsman
Photographer Liron Gertsman, from Canada, was declared this year’s grand prize winner for his atmospheric image taken in Mexico.
“I spent well over a year of planning to capture my dream of a bird in front of the total solar eclipse,” says Gertsman. “I enlisted the help of a boat to position myself near some islets off Mazatlán that were frequented by seabirds. As the moon uncovered the sun’s edge at the end of totality, I captured this image during the eclipse phase known as the ‘diamond ring’ – a moment that lasts mere seconds.”
“Exceptional bird photography takes technical excellence, artistic vision, and dedication. When everything comes together, you get a spectacular image like this one,” says Will Nicholls, Director of Bird Photographer of the Year. “This photograph is a striking reminder of what human creativity can achieve. In a world increasingly filled with AI imagery, it’s refreshing to celebrate a picture that is both awe-inspiring and rooted in the natural world.”
Young Bird Photographer of the Year – Minimalist Wings by Tomasz Michalski
The Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 was awarded to Polish photographer Tomasz Michalski, for his silhouette of a black vulture.
Tomasz said, “I took this photo during the biggest trip of my life, which was to Central America in July 2024, in the first country we visited, Nicaragua. I saw this big vulture drying its wings on a pole close to our hotel. I was being watched by the bird but it was very calm so I had a long time to photograph it. The scenery wasn’t beautiful so I decided to frame it with only part of the bird being in the photo. I tried various combinations and this one is my favourite.”
Bird Photographer of the Year has conservation at its heart. This year, the competition donated more than £5,000 to partner charity Birds on the Brink, which provides vital funding to grass-roots bird conservation projects around the world. (www.birdsonthebrink.co.uk)
Photographers competed in 8 different categories in the adult competition: Best Portrait, Birds in the Environment, Bird Behaviour, Birds in Flight, Black and White, Urban Birds, Conservation (Single Image), and Creative Perspectives. There was also a Conservation Award, Portfolio Award, and Video Award.
All awarded images are published by Princeton University Press in a hard-back coffee-table book, which is now available online at birdpoty.com. Foreword by naturalist and presenter Nigel Marven (HB, £35).
The 2026 competition is now open for entries at birdpoty.com, and invites photographers of all experience levels to submit their best bird photos.
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